The Ancient Duel
by Thefoxhunter
Summary: Egypt is overrun by shadow creatures and Pharoh and his council work tirelessly to capture them into stone tablets. Features the reader as Pharaoh Atem's Queen (ie. insert name). I don't own YGO.
1. Chapter 1

1\. An Approaching Storm

_(insert name)_ woke with a start. Her eyes roved the room for signs of danger, as had become her habit recently. _Not recently_ , she had to amend, _it has been years since I've felt safe_. She noted the absence of her husband, though by the indentation of the mattress, it could not have been long since he had risen from their bed. She sighed deeply as she shifted into a sitting position; every muscle in her body ached and she felt exhaustion weigh down on her like an invisible boulder atop her shoulders. Still, as she forced herself to rise, an unrelenting pride held her back straight and head high.

Neither did her pride allow her body to shake at the cold in the chamber. The Egyptian nights chilled to the bone, even as a merciless Sun subjected one to energy draining heat in the day.

She shook herself mentally, when did she start having such brooding thoughts about her beloved land?

Still in crumpled clothes from the previous day, she padded silently across the expansive stone room, paying little attention to the columns covered with hieroglyphics and wall carvings painted in brilliant colors.

She stepped out onto the balcony adjacent to the room and was afforded a desert view like no other.

The building in which she stood, the Sun Temple, lay at the very heart of the desert, miles from the Nile and the city which housed the Pharaohs palace. It had been constructed to reach the sky, so that Egypt's priests could contemplate the Sun, but its great height inadvertently offered an unparalleled vision of the earth as well. _ paused to stare at the great sand dunes against a sky dominated by a full moon and dark clouds. The contoured shadows of ripples and undulating crests transfixed her with their majesty, mystery and dangerousness and filled her heart with a strange mix of emotions.

Her attention then shifted to the figure standing quietly within the shadows of the balcony. Her husband, also, she thought with a bemused smile, transfixed her with his majesty.

She stood at the threshold of the balcony for a time, watching the King of Egypt. His features were pleasant to the eye, his body was sleek and strong, with narrow shoulders and hips supporting a well-muscled torso and arms. His blonde, black and red hair lay scattered about a broad forehead. His expression was set and impassive, a firmness of his mouth and an inward pull of his brows reflected a fiery strength of character and inner conviction. His khol lined eyes were arresting, colored like red wine in a glass bottle, but _ saw in them a tiredness that he hid well from the rest of the world.

Presently, she stood beside her husband, and followed his gaze across the desert. He was staring intently at a thunderstorm many miles away. _ frowned as she watched the dark clouds and flashes of lightening; there was something wrong about this thunderstorm.

As if reading her mind, Atem sighed and spoke, "I fear that storm is the mischief of another shadow monster, the millennium puzzle has been reacting to it for many minutes now."

_ nodded, "And it looks to be rapidly headed towards the temples housing the stone tablets of sealed shadow monsters."

She glanced down at the glowing meter stone within the DiaDhank on her arm. It showed just enough Ba, her Lifeforce, to summon one or two high level monsters. "I will take care of the shadow monster before it has a chance to damage the temple, my King," she said, regretting her extravagant use of Ba during her last battle, where she had summoned the powerful Black Luster Solider.

Perhaps sensing something in her voice, Atem turned to look at her, taking her hands in his, "Wife, are you well?" he asked. "The storm is far off yet, rest a while more and see if your Ba will recover. I fear I am pushing you too hard."

_ shook her head, "Our Lifeforces have been slow to recover as of last two years, and the recovery slows as each day progresses. It takes several days for our Ba to recover after the summoning of a monster, whereas previously it only took hours. Unless we find the cause of this, I doubt that a few hours rest will replenish anything."

Atem nodded, "I have sent all the bearers of the millennium items to the far reaches of Egypt to learn what they can about the cause of this. I received a message by shadow monster while you slept, Isis continues to search for answers in Hermopolis, but fears it will be fruitless."

"Have her return then, Atem." _ reasoned, "After this battle neither of us will have enough Ba to summon anything for a while. If another shadow creature approaches and threatens the city or the temples containing stone tablets, we will need someone to defend them."

Atem nodded, "The shadow monsters keep appearing, and they grow more violent with each day, I do not know why or what I have done, but there are only seven millennium items, and unless we find more people like you who can use the DiaDhank without the need of a millennium item, I fear we will be overwhelmed."

_ smiled, "The appearance of these shadow monsters is not your fault, Atem, how can it be? Do not be so quick to saddle these blames upon yourself."

Atem looked into her eyes, "I am the Pharaoh of Egypt, the misfortunes of this land are my burden to bear." He then let a small smile soften his features, "I wish I could go with you."

_ laughed, "Even summoning Kuriboh right now would drain your lifeforce and send you straight to the shadow realm. I am too young to be widowed Atem, besides, I have grown fond of sitting next to you on a gold throne."

This made Atem laugh, "Is that so? You never seem fond of it when we are flocked by secretaries detailing crop counts or advisors outlining trade deals." Still holding her hands, he leaned forward and tenderly kissed her lips. _'s heart fluttered wildly as it always did, but before he had a chance to deepen the kiss, she pulled away, sensing that she would not be able to fully enjoy his company until she dealt with the shadow monster.

She stepped back and raised her DiaDhank to the sky, "I summon you, Burst Dragon, Level 1, come to my aide!" Her life force meter drained a small amount of energy as she performed the summoning of the low level monster.

The Pharaoh and his Queen watched as a surge of light revealed a small dragon. It flapped its wings, hovering at the edge of the balcony. It bowed to Atem before lowering its neck further so that _ could mount. She did so carefully, sliding her hand reverently down the creature's neck, never quite able to overcome her awe at the shadow monster despite having summoned them many times now.

_ locked eyes with Atem and nodded, determination hardening her gaze. She patted Burst Dragons neck once again and with a powerful stroke of its wings the dragon shot away from the temple balcony, heading steadily towards the faraway storm.

Atem watched his wife speed across the desert. "Come back to me," he whispered and steeled himself against the cold, knowing he would not budge until she returned.


	2. Chapter 2

2\. Summoned Lightening

The closer she traveled towards the storm, the more _ worried. She could see it becoming more violent with each passing mile, could feel angry winds and hot flashes of lightening, and worst of all, the storm was still heading at breakneck speeds toward the temple of stone tablets. There was no rain. As they neared the edge of the storm, her dragon fought for control as strong wings buffeted the beast on all sides.

_ directed it to land, knowing she would find no advantages in the sky. Whatever this shadow being was, it would easily overpower her if she continued to search through the air. The wind, strangely, did not reach the ground, and left the sands relatively calm. She was perplexed, but grateful for this, the last thing she needed was the poor visibility afforded by a sandstorm.

 _But, how to find the creature?_ She mused as she dismissed her Burst dragon. _It could be anywhere within the boundaries of the storm, on the ground or in the sky._

Finally coming to a decision, _ raised her DiaDhak, "I call forth Whirlwind Prodigy!" She cried, "I call forth Goggle Golem!"

Both minor monsters, her Ba would not be severely depleted. She looked at both the shadow creatures as they appeared before her, "Find the monster responsible for this storm and report back to me," she said, "Whirlwind Prodigy, take to the sky. Golem, search the ground. Do not engage in combat if you find the creature, I will summon a higher being to defeat it."

The two monsters nodded and sped off. _ watched Goggle Golem disappear behind a sand dune and Whirlwind Prodigy likewise disappear into the storm clouds. She stood completely still. Her body did not move but her mind raced through the inventory of hundreds of monsters that were encased in stone tablets. Hundreds at her disposal, and she carefully considered the advantages of each. She has an idea of the kind of creature she would be facing, still, it would be nice to actually see it before she chose which monster to summon.

_ started as an ear splitting screech pierced the sky _. So,_ she thought, _it seems to be a bird beast_.

Seconds later, Whirlwind Prodigy came speeding towards her direction, looking quite distressed. _ expected it to stop in front of her, but it sped past her, making fanatic motions as it flew by. _'s eyes narrowed as she looked passed the tiny fairy to the creature that it had lured to her.

The weight of the air shifted, and she saw a bright white mass swoop down towards her, winds picked up and she felt hot gritty sand blast across her skin. She raised her arm to protect her eyes and struggled to remain upright as the winds and sand continued to buffet her. She felt the air charge with electricity as lightening flashed across the sky.

She felt static raise her hair in a ghostly halo around her face, she grimaced, the most sensible way to fight an electrical monster such as this would be to use an Earth creature. She thought of a monster the Priest Seto had recently imprisoned with his rod, a bird beast made of rock, it would be able to fly abreast with the electrical monster, and also presumably be immune to any electrical attacks, but she wasn't certain if it was strong enough. _ jumped as flash of lightening nearby struck her Whirlwind prodigy, destroying the creature.

 _Enough thinking, I have to act now! And with something powerful!_

"You are not the only master of Thunder here, creature! Summoned Skull, to my aide!"

A new wind swirled from the clouds as she summoned her shadow monster, it lifted her hair and obscured her face in snaking tendrils. Obsidian clouds fractured by lightening boiled and twisted in the sky, opening a vortex from which the Summoned Skull drifted down. The bird beast shrieked its defiance at its newest opponent, flapping its wings until the two monsters faced off.

The wind increased, bearing down on her in a shrieking tempest as the bird suddenly launched itself at the Summoned Skull. Dust blew upwards in a gritty fog, shrouding _ and obstructing her view. She screamed through the choking cloud of dust, "Defend yourself Summoned Skull! Lightning strike!"

The ground rumbled, echoing the thunder, _ gasped as the air around her compressed with a sudden punishing silence. She gripped her head in her hands as she felt an immense pressure build up around her. Through the dust she saw lightening hurtle from the Summoned Skull towards the bird beast, and her eyes burned from the brightness of the attack. _ felt herself fall to her knees, she felt overwhelmed, she was an insect, a minuscule bystander caught among two creatures who battled with the forces of nature.

_ suddenly felt the dust assaulting her on all sides stop. She stood up from where she crouched and saw that her Goggle Golem was looming over her, shielding her from the worst of the dust and wind. _ nodded her thanks, her throat too raw with dust to work. She looked up at the sky as she watched the colossal battle between the two thunder creatures continue.

The two creatures were locked in combat, high in the air. The bird had locked its talons around the rib cage of the Summoned Skull and the archfiend was keeping its wicked beak at bay with his long claws.

 _Come on! Come on!_ _ though desperately, knowing her words would never reach her creature, but that her thoughts might. _Use another lightning strike! Finish it!_

The Summoned Skull obeyed her silent command, unleashing another blast of lightening at the same moment as the bird beast. _ saw the clouds collapse in on themselves, supplicants before the terrible power of the two creatures, lightening stuck all around her in white and golden spears, thunder cracked as clouds spun and rotated. The wind keened louder in ever increasing protest. _ witnessed a final burst of lightening and then she saw the body of the bird beast hurtle towards the ground as the Summoned Skull screamed in furious victory.

_ grabbed at her golem as the ground shook as the shadow monster crashed to the ground. She stared at the beast's body, relief flooding over her as she realized it would not rise again. She approached the monster. She did not have the Millennium Rod, and thus would not be able to seal this creature into a stone tablet. What she did have at her disposal was the power of the Millennium Puzzle. Her coupling with Atem had given her access to part of his magic, allowing her to channel the ancient magic through him.

"Now!" she cried, her voice hoarse from the dust but proud and commanding still, "I call upon the Power of the Pharaohs of Egypt! Exile this creature to the Shadow Realm! Be gone Beast, I banish you from this land!"

The Eye of Wdjat appeared on the center of her forehead, and the residual power of the storm shimmered around her, casting her in pale radiance. The creature gave one final shriek as the light consumed it, and it was banished to the shadow realm.

_ slumped to the ground as exhaustion slammed into her body. It seemed to be getting harder each time, banishing monsters to the shadow realm. She smelled of brimstone and stands of her hair floated in the air, as though part of the storm was inside her.

Her Summoned Skull watched her from afar and she felt a twinge of fear at her helplessness before such a mighty creature. She shook her head, _I am its master!_ She thought savagely, _we may have imprisoned it in stone, but it is loyal to us!_

As if sensing her thoughts, Summoned Skull approached her and knelt, bowing its head. _ sighed, feeling the weight of fatigue like a ponderous and weighty cloak enveloping her entire body. She could not let the stray thought escape her that had _she_ been imprisoned in stone, she would never serve her captors the way the shadow monsters did.

 _I wonder if they serve out of free will or if the millennium rod somehow binds them to our will_.

"I am sorry for doubting you, you did well to destroy such a powerful creature Summoned Skull," _ finally spoke, "Please… take me home."

Summoned Skull unfolded his arms and _ stood, fighting a wave of nausea at even this minimal exertion. She carefully climbed into the fiends arms and took ahold of one of its thick ribs, clasping it tightly as the skeletal beast launched itself into the air.

Summoned Skull made quick progress returning to the Sun temple but it seemed to _ an eternity's passing. When she finally directed the winged fiend to the balcony, her vision was slipping in and out of darkness.

She woke when she felt strong, familiar arms encircle her.

 _Atem_

As he carried her to their bed she had just enough awareness to look over his shoulder and say "Thank you, you are dismissed" to the Summoned Skull before slipping into an exhausted slumber.

She woke in the middle of the night, trembling with fear from an already fading nightmare. She sat up, scanning the room, her eyes unable to penetrate the darkness. The scent of brimstone filled her nostrils and she struggled against a nameless, rising panic. She felt Atem's arm come around her then, moving her close against his body. He mumbled something incoherent in her ear that sounded like poetry, it soothed her, and she molded herself against his body, her senses drowning in the heat of his closeness and the feel of his arms. She felt her panic recede as she she sighed and finally slipped into a more restful sleep.


End file.
